famous bands (or significant portions thereof) who backed up a solo artist or were absorbed into an existing band for a single album: the thread

The Meters AND Little Feat on the first three Robert Palmer lps.

Nucleus graduually became the Soft machine

Soft machine backed Syd Barret on solo stuff

Gun Club/Fur Bible backed Legendary Stardust cowboy on a tour in the uk in 1985, sans jeffrey lee pierce of course.

I think the band on the live Foetus lp Rife was the band touring as the Swans at about the same time.

Kaleidoscope (US) back Leonard cohen on several tracks on his first lp

band backing Gordon Jackson on Thinking Back is a mix of all of Traffic and several of Family

The Heartbreakers on Roger McGuinn's Back From Rio.

P-Funk did this multiple times obviously -U.S. Soul, the JBs, Madhouse

Funkadelic backed the Temptations and Chairmen of the Board etc

I guess Henry Cow and Slapp Happy belong here, but I don't know the exact nature of how they crossed over.

Wilco backing Scott McCaughey on the Minus 5 Down with Wilco album, and backing Billy Bragg on many tracks of Mermaid Avenue (though sort of credited as the title artist)

Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit were on the first Eurythmics album plus some other records, although by that point Can were finished and they were kind of the Sly n' Robbie of Krautrock anyway.

Faust on Tony Conrad's Outside The Dream Syndicate

Can on the debut album by Alex (Wiska) - Czukay/Liebezeit, to be exact, with Karoli on one track.

... 1973?

Kaleidoscope (US) back Leonard cohen on several tracks on his first lp

!! I did not know this

Idiot Flesh/Sleepytime Gorilla Museum nucleus is also the backing band on early Charming Hostess material (which rules btw)

Love And Rockets as backup band for The Jazz Butcher

I guess since I started the thread I'm at liberty to broaden the purview and will do so now to include famous bands which morphed, in a more permanent way, into other famous bands (eg Joy Division > New Order, The Ants > Bow Wow Wow) if only because I know you boffins will come up with more archaic examples that will blow my mind.

Drive-By Truckers were the band for Bettye LaVette album The Scene of the Crime

Spoon backed up Sally Crewe on Drive it Like You Stole It.

I guess since I started the thread I'm at liberty to broaden the purview and will do so now to include famous bands which morphed, in a more permanent way, into other famous bands (eg Joy Division > New Order, The Ants > Bow Wow Wow)

Related: Bands sucking other entire bands into themselves

Cobra Verde on GBV's Mag Earwhig

Thanks, morrisp. TBRR, I'd be shocked if there isn't already an extant thread devoted to this topic in general.

famous bands which morphed, in a more permanent way, into other famous bands

The Hawks becoming the Band = I guess an example of this (and also sort of an example of the "famous backing band" scenario, although they became more famous after they struck out on their own?)

The Band backed Dylan again on Planet Waves and Before The Flood.

Which reminds me: The Band on the self-titled Bobby Charles album.

'Japanese Girl' by Akiko Yano had Litle Feat appear on it for most of the record.

too bad no other VU members ever did an album with a famous band

i see you president keyes

Paul Cook and Steve Jones on Johnny Thunders’ So Alone.

Although they didn’t play on the whole album so doesn’t seem to count.

So Alone is an allstar session innit. Phil Lynnott and members of the oNly Ones and people too aren't there.

CTI Allstars got around a lot and were Allstars too weren't they?

Who is band on Love , Devotion, Surrender. THat's half of 2 groups or something innit?

a way more fun example of Yes is on that Frankie Goes to Hollywood record, though it probably doesn't count since it's just Trevor Horn & Steve Howe

I think the first few records by The Tangent were just Andy Tillison + The Flower Kings

Teddy Lasry's Univeria Zekt basically was Magma

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band made not one but two albums as the backup band (although supplemented with Asbury Jukes members and others) for Gary U.S. Bonds.

Faust's rhythm section plays on Slapp Happy's Acnalbasac Noom

Frankie Ford’s “Sea Cruise” vocal was superimposed over a backing track recorded by Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns but not sure about who played on the album.

Two members of Darker My Love (Tim Presley and Rob Barbato) were drafted into The Fall for Reformation Post TLC, though I dunno how famous they were.

not very I don't think, but I was aware of them (and saw them live once) because my brother-in-law was a fan. Tim Presley might be better known for White Fence now

Bunch of Triffids on Bill Drummond's The Man LP

That Ellen Foley record with The Clash on it

Durutti Column people on the Pauline Murray & The Invisible Girls LP

Booker T & The MGs (w/Stephen Still subbing for Steve Cropper) are the backing band on Bill Withers' Just As I Am.

Also on Neil Young’s Are you Passionate

Little Feat on Paris 1919

That was already mentioned upthread

There's an Arthur Lee live album with Shack as the backing band.

Ian Hunter's LP "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic" has the E-Street rhythm section (Garry Tallent- bass
Max Weinberg - drums & Roy Bittan- keyboards) with Mick Ronson producing and playing lead guitar. It even has John Cale playing on one track too. Good record.

Faust's rhythm section plays on Slapp Happy's Acnalbasac Noom

― Ambient Police (sleeve)

Goddamn it, way to steal my answer ;_;

How about Dolly Mixture backing Captain Sensible, then?

There's an Arthur Lee live album with Shack as the backing band.

― Hideous Lump, Wednesday, June 5, 2019 10:45 PM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I saw 2 nights of that tour. London and Liverpool. Arthur Lee even paid me back after i'd had to pay in in Liverpool when he'd said he'd put me on the guestlist. Quite amazing.

xp emil.y I didn't know that one either!

Ian Hunter's LP "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic" has the E-Street rhythm section (Garry Tallent- bass
Max Weinberg - drums & Roy Bittan- keyboards) with Mick Ronson producing and playing lead guitar. It even has John Cale playing on one track too. Good record.

Buncha E Street guys on Bat Out of Hell too.

The Hollies and some British session dudes (including Jimmy Page) provide most of the backing on Two Yanks In England by The Everly Bros.

The Weirdos backing Lydia Lunch on 13.13

Honeymoon in Red is her with the birthday party.
Some Velvet morning is her with the future These Immortal Souls
& the collaboration with Rowland S Howard as Shotgun Wedding is pretty great too

I believe all of Pere Ubu appeared on the Red Crayola's Soldier-Talk (...plus Lora Logic, as well!)

Gawd... I forgot about that State Of Play album. Thanks for the details.

The Smithereens have been Dave Davies’ backing band every so often.

On occasion in the 80s, the Smithereens acted as the Beau Brummels, backing Sal Valentino and Ron Elliott.

The first Rainbow album was basically Elf w/Ritchie Blackmore.

R.E.M. sans Stipe throughout Zevon's "Sentimental Hygiene." Dylan and Neil Young on that record for a sec, too. Guess this was what gave us Hindu Love Gods.

Yup. Hindu Love Gods was stuff recorded during level checks and downtime during the SH sessions.

I guess in jazz it's more fungible but Norman Connors' 'Dance of Magic' is essentially all of Pharoah Sanders' band at the time minus Pharaoh but including most of the Headhunters

The Fabulous Thunderbirds are the backing band for most of Carlos Santana's Havana Moon.

Just picked up Legacy's old Major Lance 2-discer, and it never before dawned on me that his first few years on OKeh he was doing secret Impressions recordings, with the group providing backing vocals, many of the same session players providing instrumental backing, and Curtis Mayfield writing, playing guitar, and sometimes producing.

Alice Cooper used Lou Reed’s Rock’n’Roll Animal band on Welcome to My Nightmare

Most or all of Pere Ubu (Thomas-Herman-Krauss-Ravenstine-Maimone) were in The Red Crayola for 1979's Soldier-Talk.

(To the extent that both Grubbs and O'Rourke appeared on later Red Krayola releases, I guess you could say that Gastr del Sol was similarly "absorbed"; but it doesn't quite seem like the same thing, as lots of others played on those albums as well.)

Oh shit, I missed expanding a batch of posts in the middle of the thread... I already said the Soldier-Talk thing! Sorry 'bout that

Franz Ferdinand and Sparks absorbed each other for the FFS album

shoutout/xpost grisso-
mj's is the definitive "gypsy woman" imo. all that stuff is great! curtis' behind the board stuff is just as solid as his own records.

*mj=ml=major lance

sry got excited. major lance mention, not an every day thing, y'know.

Curtis did it a lot. He wrote and his band did Aretha Franklin - Spakle, The Staple Singers - Let’s Do it Again, and Gladys Knight and the Pips - Claudine.

Nikki Sudden & the Chamber Strings

Spiritualized back-up Dr. John on a couple of tracks on his Anutha Zone album from 1998

Kraftwerk + Manuel Göttsching on that Die Dominas 10"